Secret Traveller by Jamal Shaikh: Finding warmth in cold Finland

On either side of the grand entrance to the Helsinki Central Railway Station stand two statues, each holding a spherical lamp that lights up at night

On either side of the grand entrance to the Helsinki Central Railway Station stand two statues, each holding a spherical lamp that lights up at night. The railway station is not just a city landmark, where your train from the airport will leave you as you make your way into the city; it is also the starting point of the longest railway line in the world, the 9,200 km-long Trans-Siberian Railway—currently suspended due to the Ukraine War—which runs the 21-day journey from Helsinki, Finland, across Russia to Irkutsk in Siberia.

The Helsinki Central Railway Station that features two statues on either side

The Helsinki cathedral

Travel tips

The Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden, one of Helsinki’s most popular tourist attractions

Finnair Nordic Business Class